ON/OFF TaskBar button for Automatic log-on and connect to Internet.

[justpassing]

Hi.
I am a donor and new to this forum.
Everything looks very interesting indeed and so does the site and forum.

A good idea I think, on a very useful routine......

Is there a way of having a couple of icon selections on the TaskBar for both WindowsXP and Windows7(and above), to.....
a).
When pressed, Icon lights up green, automatically connect and Log-on to current i.s.p account. If no account, then it would open the windows new networks screen for selection.
b).
When ready, press other button, it lights up red (green button/on goes off), and it automatically logs-off user i.s.p and disconnects the internet connection but not disables it.

This would be very very useful.

All the best.

[Ath]

What type of internet connection would have this usage-model? Most current internet connections are always-on, AFAIK, so no need, or even means, to turn it 'off'.

[justpassing]

Hi.
No, I did not mean 'Disable'/'Enabe', although that could be checked on- in the first place and 'Enabled''/'Disabled' depending on the condition of the Users' Action.
A button or a pair of buttons on the TaskBar.
This button/buttons would be use for the primory Internet ISP account holder (IPS name and Lon-in) to log-in with one press of a button.
Conditions would apply for:-
a). If Wireless/Netword Not 'Enabled' then hand over to Windows environment for new account setup.
b). If 'Enabled' - Automatically Log-in to prime account Holder. Connection complete, switch button to 'Green' else 'Red'.

Other useful operations:-
This routine will only work on already setup accounts.
On Set-up, you could have the ability to:
Choose between different ISP or Home Network etc.
switch ON User Account selection with password, to ensure that only true account holder activates his/her account.

The idea is just to press one button and automatically get connected and logged on to your isp.
Although Windows 7 and above does this, Windows XP would greatly benefit from this as well.
WindowsXP, on a open architecture 4 core 3mhz borad can still run almost anything even with the use of some great emulators, so its far from being dead. Oh, its a lot faster as well.
This would be very very useful to lessen the burden of new commers trying to get a grips with the ever increasing applications that Windows has, It woul also assist those of us who are seriously ill and can not do various simple tasks.

All the best.

[app103]

I think what Ath is trying to say is that logging in to your ISP account each and every time you want to use the internet, is not a normal thing for broadband users to have to do. They usually login once, through their ISP supplied gateway modem/router (usually through a page in their browser) and then the connection is always on, always logged in. It's not their PC that is logged into their ISP account...it's their modem.

If you have to login to your ISP account each and every time you want to use the internet, your setup is either not typical or you are not on broadband (are you on dialup?), and we would need a lot more info about exactly how you have to do it, in order to understand.

[justpassing]

Hi. A lot of use do not want the internet logged-on all the time. Hence the setting are set to reflect that.
If you leave it ON all the time, you have no idea what is being pushed onto your system throughout the time you are working on the system.
If people live on the internet, then thats their choice. No Virus system is perfect and Browser hijacking is now a common place, what with advertisments and full take overs.
But a lot of us do not need the Internet, only from time to time. We have other interests on the system that do not involve the Internet, so why have it ON.
Virus companies and others recommend that you disconnect. Installations of software, for example, having the internet Off assists any Virus scanners to remove any un-know installations from trying to get on to the internet to reek its havock (both ways). The list is endless.
I have been in the computing industry since 1976 and see a lot of avoidable disasters, some serious.
So, please please can some one have a look at doing this. I can not do this for myself as I had 2 strokes some years ago and programming is not in the cards now.
Any way. I cross my fingures.
All the best.

[4wd]

Sounds like all you need to do is set it up as a dialup account using your ADSL modem - but this relies on how your hardware is set up.

ie. ISP -> ADSL modem -> computer

No router, the modem is set up as a bridging connection and all the handshaking is done by the computer, (I still have an old D-Link USB ADSL modem that works this way).

Personally, I think the easiest way would be to set up your internet connection and then use something like InternetOff, (free).

[Innuendo]

While 4wd has a very good idea, I'm going to simplify things even more.

Some broadband modems have power buttons. Just turn off the modem when you want to be disconnected from the internet. Failing that, unplug it from the mains. You could also follow this logic for one's router.

If you don't want to go that far, just use the functionality built into the OS you are using to disable the NIC in the PC.

These suggestions are working under the premise you don't have other devices that would want to use the internet connection and/or you wouldn't want network connectivity among other devices in your house.

[MilesAhead]

Another way to skin the cat using ipconfig:

http://answers.micro...88-a268-4a3c929d74d2

basically using release to give up your IP address and renew to get it back(for broadband at least.)

[4wd]

More moggy mayhem:

Use netsh to remove your gateway IP, this will let you still talk to other computers on the LAN, (if you have a router).


@OP, as app103 has said, how you log into to your ISP is not likely to be the same for everyone when you consider that you have:

• ISP supplied modem with or without the facility to change log in details;
• user supplied modem with it's attendant web setup;
• user supplied modem in bridge mode with the log in details either handled by a router or a computer;
• connect via WiFi;
• some other hardware/software/combination.

Given that this seems to be for more than just yourself then it's almost impossible to create a program that will do what you want since there's no way to cater for all the possible scenarios.

The only easily implemented options are to disable the internet connection at the computer using one of the above methods or something similar.